Chelsea have been linked with a stunning move for former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The striker only left England in January to join Barcelona, but is already on the possible list of outgoings from Catalonia as Juan Laporta tries to shift some of the financial issues, even temporarily.

Thomas Tuchel also isn’t hiding his desperation for reinforcements at Chelsea. He has been extremely public with his desire for not only new signings but also an exodus of outgoings as well as the transfer window enters its final month.

The new ownership group with Todd Boehly as the outward facing negotiator has been busier and more active in the market than any other owner to memory, but has still only completed two senior signings, though deals for Gabriel Slonina and Carney Chukwuemeka indicate some sense of long-term planning as well.

Chelsea face Everton on Saturday though and have a tricky start to the Premier League season, hence Tuchel’s desire to have new faces in the squad early as he juggles with squad issues, contract logistics and on-field management.

That has led him down the route of experience, favouring that over the risk and time consuming path of developing Chelsea’s own younger players, which raises its own questions. But Tuchel has already shown that when given the right tools, he can create innovative ways to be successful.

This is why his interest in Aubameyang makes sense. Chelsea themselves held serious interest in the player during his time at Borussia Dortmund and Tuchel was his manager at the time. The former Arsenal striker scored 56 goals in 61 league matches under the German in a successful spell.

F.L

COURTESY